Drinking Water & Wells

Water requirements for building permits

The Snohomish Health District’s drinking water program helps ensure that an adequate and safe, potable source of water is available to all proposed residences before construction. When you apply for a building permit from Snohomish County, requirements of the Washington State Growth Management Act must be met before the building permit can be issued.

To obtain a permit, you must have one of the following:

A letter from an approved water purveyor stating their ability and willingness to provide water to your property

A private well source that has been reviewed and approved by the Snohomish Health District

Well site review and requirements

Apply for an Application for an Individual Water Supply Site Inspection and pay the application review fee

Verify that there is no source of contamination located, stored or disposed of within 100 feet of a well, including onsite sewage disposal facilities, manure piles, garbage, enclosures or structures for keeping or maintaining animals, or the storage of chemicals, herbicides, or insecticides

Submit a Request for Review: Individual Water Supply application signed by the property owner/applicant. Attach the following to the application:

A copy of the Water Well Report to verify that the well was constructed per WAC 173-160, including well yield test information per WAC 173-160-321 (400 gallons per day minimum)

Results of inorganic chemical analyses for the following elements: arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, silver, sodium, fluoride, and nitrate (available through the Snohomish Health District or a private water testing lab).

Two-connection well requirements

Private wells and individual water supply serving 2 single-family homes will be reviewed and approved by Snohomish Health District. If you are purchasing water from an existing approved public water system, such as the City of Everett, portions of the following application and review process may not apply.

An Application for an Individual Water Supply Site Inspection and application review fee

A Request for Review: Individual Water Supply application DOCUMENT signed by the property owner/applicant, including the following minimum submittals:

Signed Declaration of Applicant

Copy of Water Well Report (Well Drillers Log) verifying well construction per WAC 173-160

Documentation of well yield testing per WAC 173-160-345(1) sufficient in detail to demonstrate a minimum 400 gallons per day per residential connection